• Offered for Year: 2025/26

• Module Leader(s): Professor Sam Wilson

• Owning School: Natural and Environmental Sciences
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

This module provides an detailed understanding of marine ecosystem structure and function from a physical, chemical, and biological perspective so that students understand the parameters and processes that underpin ocean biology. The module explains how ocean biology regulates our climate, is responsible for half the oxygen in the atmosphere and is an importance resource of food and energy. The module explores the biogeography and diversity of marine microorganisms at the base of the food web and how these microrganisms modulate marine biogeochemical cycles, the marine food web and even the climate. The module also looks at interactions between ocean carbon cycle and how plankton are responding to climate change.

Outline Of Syllabus

Research topics are introduced in lectures and explored in greater depth using data-workshops where students use real oceanographic data to analyse and visualize the taught concepts. The module is organised into 8 themes:

1, introduction to the ocean
physical and chemical structure of the water column
oceans biomes/seascapes
nutrient availability (eutrophic to oligotrophic)

2, The pelagic food web
chlorophyll vs biomass vs cells
phytoplankton diversity and abundances
phytoplankton biogeography

3. Ocean biogeochemistry
carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles
environmental stressors (acidification, deoxygenation)
ocean habitats in a warmer world

4. Carbon capture
primary production and recycling of carbon in the ocean
historical and modern techniques used to measure carbon capture
techniques used to monitor phytoplankton remotely

5. Carbon sequestration:
biological vs chemical pump
controlling factors
geoengineering and enhancement of carbon capture

6. Spatial-temporal signals
patterns of change on timescales of diel to seasonal to interdecadal
maintaining oceanic time-series observations

7. Where we are now
women at sea
pioneers of microbial oceanography
past and current technology advances

8. International oceanographic research programs
unanswered questions and scientific objectives
coordination of expeditions and datasets
autonomous ocean sampling

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The module has a think-pair-share approach to the delivery of lectures and data workshops. The initial lecture provides the theory and framework for appreciation of ‘oceanscapes’, which are the ocean equivalent of terrestrial landscapes that students are intimately more familiar with. The initial lecture is proceeded by a data workshop which provides the students with real-world oceanographic datasets for them to handle, visualise, and format. During the workshops students can work together to provide partner-working opportunities and student autonomy in their learning. The subsequent lecture provides the opportunity to evaluate and interpret the material produced in the preceeding workshop as a entire class and discuss the extent to which the measurements conform to our current understanding of the marine environment. Directed reading and links to further information will encourage individual learning and will contribute to greater understanding of the topics within the module.

The assessment is designed to help transition students from consumers of information, into researchers and communicators of knowledge.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The assessment is 100% coursework with the submission of a Data Portfolio for the module at the end of the Semester. The Data Portfolio is an outcome of the data workshops which occur each week. During the data workshops, the students will handle, visualise, and interpret an oceanographic dataset. They are required to produce a summary word document which includes figures, caption and a description of the figure which is no more than 200 words. At the end of the semester the students will have completed this assignment ten times, and will compile the documents into a single Data Portfolio for assessment. The total word count is a maximum of 2000 words. The Data Portfolio is submitted during the last Teaching Week of Semester 1.

The Data Portfolio ensures that the students have the opportunity to enhance their data handling and visualisation skills throughout the semester. The lectures will be used to review best practice (and worst practice) examples of data visualisation so students are aware of the expectations.

The assessment for the data handling workshops ensures students have assimilated the material provided to them and apply it to real-world situations. Students will increase their computer literacy and data organisation skills. The exercises can be conducted independently to allow for flexible learning as well as small groups which will help develop students understanding of their learning environment.

Reading Lists

• NES2503's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• NES2503's Timetable